Apparatus for conveying and sorting headed articles in accordance with length of shank



1948'- o. c. NIEDERER ET AL 2. 5

' APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING AND SORTING HEADED ARTICLES IN ACCORDANCE WITH LENGTH OF SHANK Filed April 21, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENIOE. OTTO 0.. N/EDERERf HERBERT 0' NIEDERER z j gag! a A'I TORNEY.

10, 1948- o. c. NIEDERER ET AL 2-435,635

APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING AND SORTING HEADED ARTICLES IN ACCORDANCE WITH LENGTH OF SHANK Filed April 21, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.5.

INVENTOR. 0770 c. N/ EDERE/Z HERB/5E7 0. N/EDERER ATTORNEY.

Fell 1948' o. c. NlEDERER ET AL APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING AND SORTING BEADED ARTICLES IN ACCORDANCE WITH LENGTH OF SHANK 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

Filed April 21, 1943 Patented Feb. 10, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Otto C. Niederer and Tit Herbert 0. Niederer,

nsville, n. .1.

Application April 21, 1943, Serial No. 483,960

Claims. 1

Our invention relates to machines for sorting accumulations of articles which differ in size. While the invention is capable of use in sorting many different types of articles it is hereafter described with particular reference to the sorting of headed objects such as rivets, nails, screws, bolts, and the like.

Many devices have been suggested heretofore for performing sorting operations, but these generally have been uncertain and inaccurate in operation. The reasons for such inaccuracies have been due largelyto the fact that mechanism of a purely mechanical nature has lacked-the sensitivity required in many cases whereas mechanism embodying electrical or pneumatic elements are complicated and expensive and often possess such sensitivity that their action is affected by external influences. The sorting of headed articles presents further problems because such objects must be accurately positioned and steadily supported in order that they may be gauged properly. Moreover, many headed articles are small and inexpensive so that the sorting mechanism must be inexpensive and operate rapidly in order for the cost of the sorting operation to be justified.

In accordance with the present invention these objections to constructions of the prior art are overcome and novel methods and means provided whereby headed articles such as rivets and the like may be sorted rapidly and continuously and with great accuracy and yet the mechanism employed is purely mechanical and is inexpensive to produce and operate. The rivets gauged by the present mechanism preferably are presorted by some device such as that shown and described in our copending application Serial No, 459,032 filed September 19, 1942, now Patent No. 2,374,- 948, dated May 1, 1945. It is here noted that the latter device has been found in practice to presort with suchaccuracy that round-headed, brazier-headed and. fiat-headed or counter-sunk rivets are separated into separate groups because of very small differences in the diameter of the heads of standard rivets of such different types. However, each group contains rivets of many different lengths and they often vary in length by as little as a; of an inch. The present invention serves to gauge such pre-sorted rivets for length at high speed and with such accuracy that it not only separates rivets of p g inch difference in length but even serves to reject rivets which may have a thin washer thereon and to remove counter-sunk rivets from groups of round or brazier-headed rivets.

The preferred form of mechanism employed includes means for arranging rivets in suspended positions or in other predetermined positions with respect to a conveyor and means are provided for engaging the rivets to eject them from the conveyor. The ejecting means are preferably in the form of members located at intervals along the path of travel of the conveyor and movable toward the conveyor to engage or strike the lower ends of rivets of predetermined length and remove them from the conveyor at selected points along the same. In the preferred form of the invention herein shown the ejecting means are operated intermittently while the conveyor moves continuously to move the rivets past the ejecting means.

One of the objects of our invention is to provide novel sorting mechanism of a mechanical type which is simple to construct and use and which is rapid and accurate in its operation.

' Another object of our invention is to provide sorting mechanism for headed articles in which ejecting means are movable to engage the ends of the articles to remove them from a conveyor.

A further object of our invention is to provide sorting mechanism-with intermittently operating ejecting means located adjacent a continuously moving conveyor to remove articles of predetermined size from the conveyor as they are moved past the ejecting means.

These and other objects and features of our invention will appear from the following description thereof in which reference is made to the figures of the accompanying drawing:

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a portion of one form of mechanism embodying our invention,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view 40 of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 2

taken on the line 3-3 thereof,

Fig. 4 is a further enlarged view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3, and

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the elements shown in Fig. 4 as seen from the right thereof;

In that form of our invention shown in the figures of the drawing, the mechanism embodies a support 2 upon which is located a hopper 4 with a rotatable rivet feed tube 6 extending therefrom and arranged to discharge rivets to a chute 8 down which they pass to conveying means [0. I'he conveying means used are designed to support rivets or headed articles in predetermined positions thereon and preferably in suspended posii 8 by a belt'26 passing about the small pulley 22. Thetapes travel to the left as seen in Fig. 1 and are held in horizontal positions and 1n adjusted spaced relation by the rollers 24. The

tapes are tensioned so as to be held taut and in proper positioning for gauging of the-rivets by means of rollers 26 carried by pivoted arms 28 to which springs 30 are attached.

The rivets 32 to be sorted may befed'to and:

arranged upon the tapes it or other conveying means by any suitable mechanism. The rivets are preferably arranged so that the heads there= of rest upon the tapes l6 while the shanksof the rivets extend downward between the tapes and. project belowrtheconveying means distances which varyaceordingtothe length of. the rivets. The. rivet arrangingmmeansillustrated includes a brush fid located aboveth'e. tapes lb and spaced a shortdistance therefrom and isrotated in the direct-ion'indicatedLby.thearro-w Selby belt 38 from the motor i8. The brush is positioned so that it will. cleartheheads of rivets which are properlypositionedon-the tapes but will engage those. rivetswhichare not arranged in a manner toinsure accurate. gauging thereof. Since a number of rivets may accumulate inthe space 4E3 between the endorthechuteB-and the brush 36 it is founddesirable toprovide'an overiiow chute @2170. removeexcess rivets from the spacefl to prevent clogging and jamming of. the rivetsadjacent the rotating brush.

This type of rivet .feeding, arranging and con, veying means serves tocause rivets (which preferably have been ore-sorted. for head type and diameter) topass longitudinally of the machine, from right toleft .asseen in Figs. 1 and 2, and holds the rivets-impositionior proper gauging thereon The. rivets may be arranged on the tapes very close-together and in fact they may have their heads-in contact with each other since the ejecting means employed are capable ofvremoving the rivets. rapidly and without disturbing those which are not of the predetermined length. for which each ejectingmeans is adjusted.

The ejecting meansemployedmay be of indentical' construction and. each one may be adjusts ed to remove rivetsof a predetermined length from the conveying means. As. shown they preferably are located beneath the tapes and areprovidedwith members movable toward the tapes toengage rivets of predetermined. length 7 to move them upward from between the tapes. The ejecting means adjusted for removin the longest rivets are located nearest the feeding mechanism and those for removing. rivets of progressively shorter lengthsare arranged in order along the path of travel. of th'econveying means, theejecting means for removing the shortest rivets being located near. the terminal roller as abrut which the tapes pass to return to the feeding mechanism.

The ejecting meansshown. in detail in Figs. 3, 4 and include an ejecting member movable vertically toward the tapes under the action of a spring and arrangedlto be retracted by an actuat ing member which tensions the spring and then releases the ejecting member sothat it springs upward t'ostrike the lower ends of-rivets of predeterminedlength totejectithem. from the tapes.

4 The ejecting member illustrated is in the form of a flat strip 46 of spring steel or similar material. This strip is supported by a backing plate 48 that extends beneath the space l2 between the tapes and is adjustable toward and away from the tapes It) by the nuts 50 which engage a bolt 52.mounted-v on the frame-2. The end oh the strip :35 projects beyond the 'backing plate 148 .and its upward movement is limited by an adjustable stop 54 mounted on a bracket 56 secured to the frame 2, on the opposite side of the tapes.

The free end-of the strip 46 is positioned to be engagedby-the actuating member 58 which is in the 'form of a headed bolt extending radially -fromarotatablezshaft 60. Rotation of the shaft and-actuating member 58 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figs. 3 and 4 serves to depress the-Tree end of the strip 46 so that it assumes the. dotted line position 62 of Fig. 4. Thereafter as the actuating member continues to rotate it moves beyond the end of the strip and releases the strip suddenly; so that it will? spring, upward adistance limited by the stop'54 and to the dotted line position: 64 of Fig. 4.. Upward movement of the spring strip'j46 to the latter po sition is suflicient to cause it to'engageithe'lower' end of the shank of 'a rivet'32 of predetermined.

length. However, the stop 54 prevents. the strip from moving upward far enough to engagethose rivets which are shorter than desiredfor re.- moval at thatparticular station. The gauging; and removal of the rivets is thus accurately, controlled. In fact, articles difiering in size by, as. little as .005 inch may thusbe separated :from' each other and very accurate gauging. of.objectsl can thus be effected.

The rivets engaged'by the. ejectingmeans are struck forceably and thus projected upwardfromv' between the tapes andcaused to engage a'h'ood' or guide means 66 which extends over the tapes and is formed with acurved-lower surface to di rect the rivets to a receptacle68fin whi'c'hrivets' of selected length are collected.

The shaft 60 which carries theactuatingmeme bers 58 is mounted in bearings 68 'on the frame 2 and driven by gears. 10' throughthe-pull'ey l2: and belt 14 from the motor l8." The actuating means 58 are preferably-arranged so that-they. project at different angles from the shaft .60' so that the load on the shaft and driving meansis'. substantially continuous and the ejecting means are actuated successively as the shaft rotates.-

As shown in Fig.5 the width of the stripldfi preferably is considerably greater than the di-i ameter of the rivets so that each vertical move. ment of the strip may serve to eject .two or several rivets from the tapes depending on how many rivets of selected length: havebeen moved. into position above the stripby the tapes between each. upward movement of the strip. .Thisarrangement renders it possible togaugetherivets two or more at a time or-in groups depend ing on the Width of the ejectingmeanssothatthe tape may be advanced considerablyfaster than would be possible if each. individualrivet had to be. gauged separately andinsuccessiom In describing the preferred formof our inven tion it is noted that the ejecting means and the spring bywhich it is actuated are. actually different parts of the same element. However; it will be apparent that the element or portion of the strip which actually. engages the .rivetsneed not itself be a spring member, provided it is urgedtoward the stop meansi l by rother elements or portions of the stripgwhichaareresilient;

or in the form of spring means. The form of the invention is preferred since it avoids the use of numerous parts and reduces the manufacturing operations required if a spring pressed plunger or the like is used as the ejecting means.

In using our invention it will of course be apparent that any preferred form of conveying means and any desired mechanism for arranging articles thereon may be used and numerous changes and modifications may be made in the form and construction of the various elements and parts of the combination. In view thereof it should be understood that the preferred embodiment of ourinvention herein shown and described is intended to be illustrative only and is not intended to limit the scope of the following claims.

We claim: 7

1. Sorting mechanism comprising parallel conveyors, means for arranging headed articles at variously spaced points along the conveyors with their shanks ext-ending downward between the conveyors, ejecting means located different predetermined distances below the conveyors and at successive points along the path of movement of said conveyors, means for moving said conveyor continuously past each of said ejecting means, and means at said points for moving said ejecting means vertically to engage the articles and move them upward from the conveyors.

2. Sorting mechanism comprising parallel conveyors, means for arranging headed articles at variou ly spaced points along the conveyors with their shanks extending downward between the conveyors, ejecting means located different predetermined distances below the conveyors and at successive points along the path of movement of said conveyors, means for moving said conveyors continuously past each of said ejecting means, springs urging said ejecting means upward toward the conveyors to engage the articles and move them upward from the conveyors, means for limiting upward movement of the ejecting means, and means located at said points and movable into and out of engagement with said ejecting means to tension and release said springs and actuate the ejecting means.

3. Sorting mechanism comprising parallel conveyors, means for arranging headed articles at variously spaced points along said conveyors with the shanks of the articles extending downward between the conveyors, ejecting means located different predetermined distances below the conveyors and at spaced points along the path of movement of the conveyors, means for moving said conveyor continuously past each of said ejecting means, springs urging the ejecting means upward toward the conveyors to engage articles and remove them upward from the conveyors, stop means limiting upward movement of the ejecting means, means located at said points for depressing and releasing the ejecting means, and guide means located above the conveyors for directing the articles removed from the conveyors by each of said ejecting means into separate receptacles. V

4. Sorting mechanism comprising parallel conveyors, means for arranging headed articles at variously spaced points along said conveyors with the shanks of the articles extending downward between the conveyors, ejecting means located difierent predetermined distances below the conveyors and at spaced points along the path of movement of the conveyors, means for moving said conveyor continuously past each of said ejecting means, springs urging the ejecting means upward toward the conveyors to engage articles and remove them upward from the conveyors, stop means limiting upward movement of the ejecting means, and rotatable means located at said points having projecting elements carried thereby and operable to alternately tension and release said springs to actuate said ejecting means.

5. Sorting mechanism comprising parallel conveyors, means for arranging headed articles on said conveyors with the shanks of the articles extending downward between the conveyors, ejecting means located different predetermined distances below the conveyors and at spaced points along the path'of movement of the conveyors, springs urging the ejecting means upward toward the conveyors to engage articles and remove them upward from the conveyors, stop means limiting upward movement of the ejecting means, a rotatable shaft ext-ending along the path of movement of said conveyors and having projecting elements carried thereby and positioned at each of said points to alternately tension and release said springs to actuate said ejecting means, and guide means located above the conveyors for directing the articles removed from the conveyors by each of said ejecting means into separate receptacles.

OTTO C. NIEDERER.

HERBERT O. NIEDERER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,305,152 Nielsen May 2'7, 1919 2,300,124 King Oct. 2'7, 1942 1,403,507 Lawson Jan. 17, 1922 2,315,287 Holloway Mar. 30, 1943 2,354,419 Lingerfelt July'25, 1944 2,355,311 Linkner Aug. 8, 1944 

